The Japanese driver looked back on his particular start to the year, between his first victory and confinement.
Tetsuta nagashima saw for the first time in his career all eyes on him in Qatar and for good reason: he won the inaugural race of the season and at the same time the very first of his career. As if that wasn't enough, the Japanese provoked destiny by winning exactly ten years after the late Shoya Tomizawa, to whom he was very close.
Once the emotion had passed, the return to reality was more violent with the spread of the coronavirus throughout the world which led to the confinement of many countries and the pausing of the championship. Nagashima benefits from Japan's slightly more lenient policy, which has not introduced restrictions as significant as in France, Italy or Spain, but confinement is still required and residents are called upon to stay at home. them. “At the moment I have not allowed myself to train on a motorbike, I only do training exercises at home”, recognized the Japanese rider during a live with motogp.com.
This situation is all the more unprecedented for him since he has rarely spent so much time with his wife and three children due to his particular pace of life as a pilot. “It’s been a long time since that happened.”, he admitted. “There's a lot of noise, we don't sleep much at night, but I have a lot of fun with them. When you work for yourself, it's difficult to find motivation. I find it in my family, which makes me happy. »
However, if the pandemic made him come down from his cloud a little quickly, he continues to believe in a real milestone in his career: “It was really special, a dream come true. […] I worked really hard to get this result. It's not a fluke, it's the result of the right mentality. »
After four years in Moto2, quite choppy due to an injury which had kept him away from Grands Prix for two years, Nagashima entered the points more regularly last year and finished in the final top 15 with a pole position. on the meter. All that remains is for him to confirm his victory, and for that he can count on his youth idol to stay the course. “I was inspired by Valentino Rossi”, he explained, before adding that he was currently taking “also Marc Márquez” in reference.
